Jim Fregosi

Fregosi was born on April 4, 1942, in San Francisco, California, and spent part of his youth growing up in nearby in San Mateo. He was the son of Archie and Margaret Fregosi and also spent time growing up in South San Francisco. His paternal grandparents were Italian, while his maternal grandparents were English and Irish. A right-handed batter, Fregosi is one of many notable alumni of Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball, and also ran track. ==Professional career==

Draft and minor leagues Fregosi was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox in . The Red Sox assigned him to the Alpine (Texas) Cowboys of the Sophomore League, where he played shortstop and second base, with a .267 batting average in 1960. In December of the same year, after the Red Sox chose not to protect him, he was selected by the Angels in the 1960 MLB Expansion Draft. In 1962, he played in 64 games for Dallas-Fort Worth, his final games in the minor leagues, and joined the Angels after hitting .283 in 219 at bats. After hitting .291 in 175 at-bats as a reserve in 1962 and starting 49 games at shortstop, He made his first All-Star squad in 1964, batting .277. From 1964 to mid-May 1969, he teamed with second baseman Bobby Knoop (Knoop was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1969 after 27 games) to form one of the game's top double-play combinations. With Knoop winning Gold Gloves from 1966 to 1968, the two became only the third middle infield combination (after Nellie Fox and Louis Aparicio in 1959 and 1960) to win the honor in the same season (1967). and he did so again on May 20, , but this one was an unnatural cycle, hitting a home run in the first inning, a triple in the third inning, a double in the eighth inning, and a game-winning walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning. Fregosi continued to turn out solid years, particularly in 1967, when he batted .290 (seventh in the AL) and won his only Gold Glove, and best all-around shortstop, leading the AL in triples (13) in 1968. playing in only 107 games after playing between 147 and 161 games from 1963 to 1970. In 1969, the fans voted him the number one player in franchise history and, in 1998, the team retired his number 11. He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in 1989. a trade that embittered many New York fans because of Ryan's future success.) Sidelined by several injuries, including a broken thumb, in , Fregosi struggled with the Mets, where he played mainly at third base (85 games to only six at shortstop). He played in only 101 games, with a .232 batting average and five home runs. When the Angels expressed interest in naming him as their manager in , the Pirates released him ==Managerial career==

California Angels (1978–1981) {{MLBBioRet In becoming the Angels' manager at age 36, Fregosi was presented with a solid team nucleus of Ryan, Baylor, Downing, Bobby Grich, Carney Lansford, Frank Tanana, and tying for second with Texas behind the Kansas City Royals. In 1979, with the addition of Rod Carew, he led the Angels to an 88–74 record, surprising the Royals and winning the first title in the club's 19-year existence. After Ryan's departure to the Houston Astros at the end of the season, the team's pitching faltered in (going from three starters with ERAs of 3.89 or lower in 1979, Fregosi was replaced in the first half of the season. (Fregosi's Angels teammate 1961-64) to manage the Louisville Redbirds of the American Association for three seasons. and lost the league championship in the playoffs. In 1985, Fregosi's Louisville team finished the season in first place and won the league championship in the playoffs. the 1993 Phillies (featuring a cast of colorful characters, including Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Dave Hollins, John Kruk, Danny Jackson, Curt Schilling, and Mitch Williams) charged to 97 wins. The Phillies then further shocked the baseball world by pulling off a major upset against the two-time defending NL Champion Atlanta Braves in six games in the League Championship Series. Despite putting up a good fight against the defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, Fregosi's Phillies wound up losing to Toronto in six games, with Joe Carter's Series-winning home run in Game 6 being the final blow. Despite the World Series run, Fregosi was often the target of criticism by the Philadelphia sports media. One general criticism of Fregosi was that he was a manager who relied on veteran players and was unable to develop younger players. He ultimately was fired by the Phillies in after posting a series of dismal post-1993 seasons. Toronto Blue Jays (1999–2000) After leaving the Phillies, Fregosi was a scout and became a special assistant to San Francisco Giants' general manager Brian Sabean for two years. On July 27, 2000, he won his 1,000th game as manager, doing so against the Seattle Mariners 7–2. Despite fair results, he was let go after the season. Fregosi finished with a record of 167 wins and 157 losses in the regular season. This ended up being his final managerial position in Major League Baseball. His run with the Blue Jays was the only stint where he finished with an overall winning record. Career As a manager, he had a record of 1028 wins and 1094 losses in 15 seasons. He also managed 16 post-season games, finishing with a record of seven wins and nine losses. At the end of , when the Phillies were looking for a manager to replace Larry Bowa, Fregosi surfaced as a candidate for the job. The job ended up going to Charlie Manuel. == Scout and executive ==

At the time of his death, Fregosi had been the top advance scout for the Atlanta Braves for 13 years. He had joined the Braves after leaving Toronto, and worked as a special assistant to Atlanta Braves general managers John Schuerholz and then Frank Wren, and was the number one confidant to each of them. == Legacy and honors ==

In his 18-year career, Fregosi batted .265 with 1,726 hits, 151 home runs, 844 runs, 706 runs batted in (RBIs), 264 doubles, 78 triples, and 76 stolen bases in 1,902 games played. Don Baylor broke his team record of 115 home runs in at a time when Fregosi was Baylor's manager. As of 2024, neither is in the all-time top 10 home run leaders for the Angels. said of Fregosi in 1964: "If Jim Fregosi played for the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of the Los Angeles Angels, the city would cast his footprint or his gloveprint or something in cement outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He ... would be endorsing everything under the smog. For Jim Fregosi, just 22 years old, is generally acknowledged as the best young player in the American League." Fregosi's number 11 was retired by the Angels in . For his scouting work, in 2011, Fregosi received the George Genovese Lifetime Achievement Award, from the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation. Managerial record ==Personal life==

Fregosi was known for not wanting to discuss his personal life in the baseball context. Fregosi joined the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in 1982 at the Garden Grove Elks #1952 Fregosi delivered a eulogy at the March 2007 funeral of longtime friend and former Phillies coach John Vukovich. The cruise docked in the Cayman Islands where he was rushed to a local hospital, and his condition was stabilized by doctors before he was relocated to Miami. On February 13, Fregosi's condition declined and he died early on February 14, at the age of 71. Phillies owner David Montgomery memorialized Fregosi as a "dear friend". ==See also==